Tag Archives: economic growth

Awkward…

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Look like Moody’s wont be getting a warm reception from China in the near – and probably far – future. It took thirty years, but the investor service downgraded China’s sovereign credit rating. Moody’s is more than a bit skeptical that the country can get its debt issues under control while at the same time trying to maintain economic growth. Hence, it bumped China’s rating down a smidgen from a respectable A1 to a not-as-respectable Aa3. On the bright side – though I highly doubt China sees it that way – Moody’s did upgrade its outlook for the country from negative to stable. That’s gotta count for something, right? Well, maybe not to the Chinese. In any case, even though China has enjoyed pretty fast growth rates that easily surpassed 6%, it is apparently due in large part to its mounting pile of debt, and Moody’s said that it expects that rate to soon come down closer to 5%. As for China, the Finance Ministry is, shall we say, unhappy about this downgrade and called the move “inappropriate” and “absolutely groundless.” Oh well. So much for diplomacy.

Not so Gaga for Tiffany…

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All is not bling-y for Tiffany & Co. as the luxury jeweler took a nasty 4% hit on its comparable sales, even during the fiscal quarter that brings us Valentine’s Day. Of course, with that ugly bit of news came an even uglier hit to its stock, taking it down around 10%. Like with so many other brands, the company just can’t seem to get a hold on that finicky demographic we call millennials. And that’s even after the luxury brand made Lady Gaga its poster gal while poaching Coach’s Creative Director, Reed Krackoff to add a little millennial-desirability to the the label. Naturally, some blame also went to that pesky strong dollar of ours which seemed to put a crimp on tourist spending. Net sales were up close to $900 million. Too bad expectations were for $914 million On the bright side, Tiffany & Co. added 74 cents to its shares, beating analyst estimates by four cents. Last year at this time, the company hauled in over $891 million in revenue with 69 cents added per share.

Can’t contain myself…

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Shares of The Container Store Group surged 37% after announcing it not only beat expectations, but it also has a restructuring plan in the works. If any company knows a thing or two about restructuring and organization, it’s gotta be The Container Store, right? At least when I walk into one of their stores, I always find myself feeling grossly inadequate and disorganized. In any case, the company took in sales of $221 million, easily blowing expectations of $213 million out of the water. The company also took in 17 cents per share which was 140% higher than last year at this time. Yes, you read that correctly. 140%. Analysts expected 11 cents per share. But mind you, the company’s stock had been down around 50% since it hit a one year-high back in December. As for the restructuring plan, sadly, there will be layoffs. It’s an unfortunate result of trying to combat all the e-commerce competition that has dogged The Container Store and countless other businesses.